International Box Office: Christopher Nolan’s ‘Interstellar’ Blasts Through China With $5.4 Million Debut, Will Face Off Against ‘Penguins Of Madagascar’ Starting Today

fans, international box office draw means a lot implicitly for filmmakers who want to have the kind of power to make any film they want to make.

Christopher Nolan is one of the directors who has garnered enough international fans to make a $200 million dollar budget not that much to ask for.

Or so that seems to be the case with “Interstellar” especially since it has already made back its budget with plenty of weeks left for profit.

The Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway space drama is off to a $5 million start but it will get some competition today when “Penguins of Madagascar” bows in China as well.

“I don’t think the audience needs to understand the science of the film.

I think they just need to have the journey and the experience of the characters,” said Christopher Nolan at a press conference for the Shanghai premiere of “Interstellar” (via Yahoo! Movies .) One can only imagine what to make of the science behind “Interstellar” in a language that is not your own.

But then again as Nolan states, perhaps the experience and emotions in “Interstellar” are more important.

That’s likely the case for the Chinese audience that came out in droves to support the space drama.

Deadline reports that “Interstellar” grabbed $5.4 million in the box office when it premiered on Wednesday in China.

(That’s 33.3 million yuan in Chinese currency).

Deadline also notes that this debut is ahead of Nolan’s last two films “Inception” and “The Dark Knight Rises” in China, which perhaps suggest that he’s a more than beloved director internationally.

“Interstellar” will however face competition in the form of “Penguins of Madagascar” which will debut in Chinese theaters today.

Elsewhere in the world, “Interstellar” continues to dominate various other markets, including South Korea and surprisingly Spain (which a reporter from Deadline states there was little to no advertising in the country’s 3rd largest city of Valencia).

Whether it’s the star power of Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway combined or Christopher Nolan’s continued legacy as a critically acclaimed director, “Interstellar” currently holds the world’s attention.